Heads will roll
Jun. 15th, 2012 01:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakOccasionally dipping into the internet these last days tells me that on the Game of Thrones season 1 dvds, some of the producers on the audiocommentary for the s1 finale chortle about the fact that one of the severed heads in a scene there is that George (W.) Bush. Which was no sooner pointed out in an article than HBO had to scramble and apologize and have the producers declare that no, the Bush head was totally a coincidence and not an intention and no disrespect etc.
Now I must admit, when I first read about the Bush head, I was amused. I freely admit that had it been the head of an US president I feel more or less positive about instead of loathing his policies and feeling pain every time he opens his mouth to speak - say, Clinton - I would not have been amused, though I doubt I'd have felt more than a momentary urge to roll my eyes, and then move on. Then again, I'm not American, and our politicians fare far worse on carnival wagons. Also, the apology is probably not intended to soothe Bush's potentially hurt feelings but very much intended to keep Republican voters paying for HBO in an election year where partisan feelings are at fever pitch. (Probably why no one demanded apologies from RTD and Phil for chortling on the Last of the Time Lords audio commentary or podcast - I forgot which one - about the fact the death of the US president was the one thing not reset when the Year That Wasn't was reversed and that probably nobody minded because, well, Bush. The BBC isn't paid for by American watchers.) Anyway: the mental combination of W. with Game of Thrones made me conclude that Bush is what would have happened if Theon Greyjoy by some chance of fate had become supreme ruler of Westeros.
Incidentally, re: Game of Thrones, the second season continued to be stress-free (due to lack of deeper emotional investment and only the vaguest of memories of the novels) watching for me, though I felt sorry for those of my friends who fretted about the changes to their favourite characters and glad for those who loved the show as it was. It's the Dallas of the "gritty" fantasy, and I don't mean that as a put-down; I used to watch Dallas in the 80s for quite a while and it was pretty addictive, but I also didn't love or hate any of the characters. And now I want someone to match Ewings and Barnes to Lannisters or Starks and write a treatise as to whether Dany is Lucy written with girl power and dragons. :)
Lastly: I hear G.R.R. Martin joined the ranks of (mostly male) reviewers who watched a differentn movie than I did and thought Black Widow was only standing around uselessly being eye candy in The Avengers. No, Mr. Martin, that's Jon Snow in the tv version of your saga. He may be actually doing something in the books, but I would not know, because I got bored so much by him by the time the first book ended that I skipped all his pov chapters in the subsequent ones.
Now I must admit, when I first read about the Bush head, I was amused. I freely admit that had it been the head of an US president I feel more or less positive about instead of loathing his policies and feeling pain every time he opens his mouth to speak - say, Clinton - I would not have been amused, though I doubt I'd have felt more than a momentary urge to roll my eyes, and then move on. Then again, I'm not American, and our politicians fare far worse on carnival wagons. Also, the apology is probably not intended to soothe Bush's potentially hurt feelings but very much intended to keep Republican voters paying for HBO in an election year where partisan feelings are at fever pitch. (Probably why no one demanded apologies from RTD and Phil for chortling on the Last of the Time Lords audio commentary or podcast - I forgot which one - about the fact the death of the US president was the one thing not reset when the Year That Wasn't was reversed and that probably nobody minded because, well, Bush. The BBC isn't paid for by American watchers.) Anyway: the mental combination of W. with Game of Thrones made me conclude that Bush is what would have happened if Theon Greyjoy by some chance of fate had become supreme ruler of Westeros.
Incidentally, re: Game of Thrones, the second season continued to be stress-free (due to lack of deeper emotional investment and only the vaguest of memories of the novels) watching for me, though I felt sorry for those of my friends who fretted about the changes to their favourite characters and glad for those who loved the show as it was. It's the Dallas of the "gritty" fantasy, and I don't mean that as a put-down; I used to watch Dallas in the 80s for quite a while and it was pretty addictive, but I also didn't love or hate any of the characters. And now I want someone to match Ewings and Barnes to Lannisters or Starks and write a treatise as to whether Dany is Lucy written with girl power and dragons. :)
Lastly: I hear G.R.R. Martin joined the ranks of (mostly male) reviewers who watched a differentn movie than I did and thought Black Widow was only standing around uselessly being eye candy in The Avengers. No, Mr. Martin, that's Jon Snow in the tv version of your saga. He may be actually doing something in the books, but I would not know, because I got bored so much by him by the time the first book ended that I skipped all his pov chapters in the subsequent ones.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-15 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-15 01:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-15 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-15 02:25 pm (UTC)ETA: Some studio here is re-booting Dallas with Patrick Duffy back in his role, and bringing in the next generation to continue the family feud.
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Date: 2012-06-15 05:54 pm (UTC)Although I have heard that the commentary is different on the American release of the DVDs, for just that reason. One of the reasons I'm not buying the DVDs, or at least not until circumstances make buying the UK release feasible.
thought Black Widow was only standing around uselessly being eye candy in The Avengers
I guess that Russian guy just fell down the shaft in that building because he tripped, huh? And Banner just came back to the SHIELD fold because he was bored or something....
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Date: 2012-06-15 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-15 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-16 04:10 am (UTC)And oh Jon Snow! I'm sure he is doing something interesting and plot relevant in his chapters...but I'm having too much trouble staying awake to notice. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem.
As for GRRM, while's definitely created some awesome female characters, he's also guilty of a lot of gender fail. Natasha was one of the highlights of the Avengers for me.
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Date: 2012-06-16 04:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-16 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-16 05:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-16 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-16 12:42 pm (UTC)